George McDonald

Bill de Blasio’s poll numbers are close to the magic 40% that would allow him to clinch the nomination outright. If no candidate crosses that threshold though, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff on October 1st.

Several candidates weighed in on the latest addition to the race Wednesday morning at the Crain’s New York Business Democratic debate, just hours after Weiner released a YouTube video declaring his bid for mayor.

The Republican joins an increasingly crowded field of GOP, Democratic and other candidates seeking to succeed the term-limited, Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

At 23 percent in the latest Quinnipiac University poll, Lhota would handily beat all other Republican challengers for the nomination. But the good news for him could stop there, according to Quinnipiac’s Maurice Carroll.